UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT of COLUMBIA JANE DOE I, Individually and on Behalf of the Estate of Her Son JOHN DOE I, JO
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA JANE DOE I, individually and on behalf of the estate of her son JOHN DOE I, JOHN DOE II, and JOHN DOE III, individually and on behalf of his father JOHN DOE IV and the estate of his brother JOHN DOE V, Plaintiffs, vs. MAJOR GENERAL JOHNY LUMINTANG, Defendant. Civil Case No.: COMPLAINT FOR SUMMARY EXECUTION, TORTURE, CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, WRONGFUL DEATH, ASSAULT AND BATTERY AND INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS JURY TRIAL DEMAND PRELIMINARY STATEMENT 1. Plaintiffs Jane Doe (individually and on behalf of the estate of her son John Doe I), John Doe II and John Doe III (individually and on behalf of John Doe IV and the estate of John Doe V) bring this action for compensatory and punitive damages against Major General Johny Lumintang, an Indonesian military officer currently in the United States who -- in the position of Vice Chief of Staff of the Indonesian military and as a member of the Indonesian High Command -- designed, ordered, implemented and directed a program of systematic human rights violations in East Timor which resulted in abuses including the summary execution of Jane Doe's son, John Doe I, the torture and summary execution of Plaintiff John Doe III's brother and attempted summary execution of his father, and the beating and shooting of John Doe II. 2. Plaintiffs seek damages for summary execution; torture; cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; crimes against humanity; and other violations of customary international law, the laws of the United States, the laws of the District of Columbia, and the laws of East Timor. 3. Defendant Lumintang, acting singly and in concert with other members of the Indonesian High Command as well as other organized armed groups, directed, planned, instigated, conspired, aided, abetted, incited and failed to prevent and/or is otherwise responsible for the campaign of crimes against humanity and gross violations of human rights law set forth in this complaint, including the September 1999 summary execution, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and displacement of the Plaintiffs and/or their family members in East Timor. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 4. This court has jurisdiction under the Torture Victim Protection Act, Pub. L. No. 102-256, 106 Stat. 78 (1992); the Alien Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1350; 28 U.S.C. § 1331; and the principles of supplemental jurisdiction. The Torture Victim Protection Act provides federal jurisdiction for acts of torture and summary execution, no matter where committed. The Alien Tort Claims Act provides federal jurisdiction for "any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States." Plaintiffs' causes of action arise under, among others, the following laws, agreements, resolutions and treaties: a. Customary international law; b. United Nations Charter, 59 Stat. 1031, 3 Bevans 1153 (1945); c. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, G.A. Res. 217A(iii), U.N. Doc. A/810 (1948); d. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, G.A. Res. 2220A(xxi), 21 U.N. Doc., GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 52, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966); e. Convention Against Torture; f. Common law of the United States of America; g. Laws of the District of Columbia, including but not limited to common law principles of wrongful death, assault and battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress; and h. Laws of East Timor. 5. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia is the proper venue of this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391. PARTIES 6. Plaintiff Jane Doe I and her deceased son John Doe I are citizens of East Timor, but were recognized as citizens of Indonesia until mid-October 1999. Both Jane Doe I and John Doe I were activists who supported independence for East Timor. On September 6, 1999, John Doe I was shot in the family home; he died in the hospital four days later. Prior to his killing, militia members had come to the family home and threatened to "clean up" the supporters of independence. 7. Plaintiff John Doe II is a citizen of East Timor, but was recognized as a citizen of Indonesia until mid-October 1999. In September 1999, he was stopped in Dili, East Timor, by Indonesian soldiers in uniform who interrogated him, beat him with rifle butts and kicked him until he fell to the ground. As he attempted to flee, a soldier shot him, injuring him in the foot. The lack of available medical attention caused the wound to become infected and the foot subsequently had to be amputated. 8. Plaintiffs John Doe III, John Doe IV and John Doe V are citizens of East Timor, but were recognized as citizens of Indonesia until mid-October 1999. They are all political activists who worked for the independence of East Timor. Beginning in February 1999, family members were beaten and tortured and otherwise threatened. In July 1999, death threats against the family were intensified, and militia members repeatedly came to the family home at night. Soon family members went into hiding. In September 1999 Plaintiff John Doe V was killed in his hiding place, and there was an attempt to kill John Doe IV. John Doe IV is unable to sue on his own behalf or on behalf of his deceased son John Doe V, and John Doe III files on their behalf. 9. Defendant Johny Lumintang is a citizen of Indonesia. During the time period relevant to this complaint, Defendant Lumintang was the Vice Chief of Staff of the Indonesian military, with command responsibility for troops located in East Timor. In that capacity, he was personally involved in the Indonesian military's ongoing program of massive human rights abuses in East Timor, which included the torture of John Doe II, John Doe IV and John Doe V, the summary executions of John Doe I and John Doe V, and the attempted summary execution of John Doe IV. Defendant Lumintang is currently travelling within the jurisdiction of this court. STATEMENT OF FACTS 10. East Timor, a colony of Portugal from the year 1702 until 1975, declared independence on November 28, 1975. Indonesia invaded just 10 days later, on December 7, 1975, and unilaterally annexed East Timor the following year. The United Nations never recognized Indonesia's annexation, regarding East Timor as a "non-self- governing territory" under the administration of Portugal. 11. In order to maintain control over the occupied territory during the past twenty-five years, Indonesian military forces detained, tortured, executed and "disappeared" tens of thousands of East Timorese. Suspected opponents of Indonesian rule were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for political offenses. Forced relocations of the rural population led to tens of thousands of deaths due to starvation and disease. Social, political or religious activities in East Timor which challenged the illegal Indonesian rule were ruthlessly repressed. 12. These gross and systematic violations of human rights resulted in the deaths of an estimated 200,000 people in East Timor since 1975, out of a pre-invasion population of 600,000. 13. On January 27, 1999, Indonesian President B.J. Habibie announced that the people of East Timor would be given a choice between greater autonomy within or total separation from Indonesia in a vote conducted by the United Nations. 14. From February through April 1999, the Indonesian military and its militia escalated a campaign of intimidation against the population of East Timor, driving tens of thousands of people from their villages, assaulting pro-independence activists and conducting several massacres. 15. During 1999, Defendant Lumintang served as the Vice Chief of Staff of the Indonesian military, with responsibility for training and deployment of Indonesian army troops in East Timor. In this position, Defendant Lumintang engaged in a series of actions to implement the Indonesian military's program of eliminating all social, political or religious activities in East Timor which in any way challenged the illegal Indonesian rule, particularly in the months leading up to the August 30, 1999 "popular consultation" on East Timor's independence. 16. On May 5, 1999, Indonesia, Portugal and the U.N. signed an agreement in New York describing procedures and a timetable for a "popular consultation" on East Timor's political status. The agreement left Indonesia responsible for security before and during the vote. The Indonesian military then acted to strengthen, expand and better coordinate the paramilitary militia groups. 17. Hours before the signing of the May 5 Accord, Defendant Lumintang sent a telegram (on behalf of General Subagyo, then Chief of Staff) to Regional Military commander Major General Adam Damiri and East Timor commander Colonel Tono Suratman, with orders to be prepared to take repressive actions after the ballot if the decision was in favor of independence. 18. In his position of Vice Chief of Staff in June 1999, Defendant Lumintang signed a Covert Operations Manual for Kopassus (Buku Petunjuk Pembinaan tentang Sandhi Yudha TNI-AD) which he described (in a foreward to the manual) as a guideline for education of Indonesian troops. The manual states that Kopassus intelligence troops were to be trained in propaganda, kidnapping, terror, agitation, sabotage, infiltration, undercover operations, wiretapping, photographic intelligence and psychological operations. Kopassus operatives have been linked to the surveillance, kidnapping, torture and extrajudicial killing of East Timorese independence activists both prior and subsequent to the independence "popular consultation". 19. In his position as Vice Chief of Staff, the Defendant and other members of the Indonesian High Command laid plans to withdraw Indonesian troops and forcibly relocate hundreds of thousands of East Timorese after the "popular consultation", in violation of the U.N.